#there are certain writing choices that make it really obvious to me that Amity was always meant to be a character Luz

[theprinceandthewitch]

So I've been thinking about this for a hot minute now and... I still think Amity's insecurities around inadequacy are going to be brought up even if they didn't come up in all the other episodes featuring their relationship (besides Eclipse Lake).

Partly because Hunter is involved in this issue... but mostly it's because:

It wasn't the right time for Luz to learn her lesson from Amity. She's going to learn it in this season, as it is the third act of the story. This is the Act where the protagonist learns their "truth" and is forever changed by it. They didn't really delve into Amity's insecurities because it wasn't the right time to do so. Bringing up her insecurities will cause conflict between her and Luz - which I believe they have been saving for this season.

[vegalocity]

(I’m probably gonna send you a few of these so brace yourself) Hugs #35. Hunter experiences his first ever cuddle pile when he hangs out with Luz and Her friends. - Pixel Anon

affection meme

35. cuddle pile

Pixel (adnd basically anyone lol) send me as much as you want, my computer is busted rn and i can't draw writing is all i've got.

sooo you wanted like a shitton of words about Hunter being touch starved yeah? Good here's the Extended Friend Group (Extended to include the Former Detention Kids) having a sleepover

--

Luz called him touch starved. He thought the idea was ridiculous when she'd first said it; as people touched him all the time, He had the scars to prove that people touched him all the time.

But when he'd come down the stairs of the Owl House to see her and her friends (and girlfriend) spread out along the sleeping bags and cushions, and the girl with the glasses gently placed a hand on his upper arm to keep him from bumping into her as she called back to the others that she was going to go check on the Moon Lillies Eda had let her keep here, and it felt like lightning across his skin. But like... good lightning? It made him jolt and gooseflesh rose up on his skin but it wasn't unpleasant. It felt nice... Like... really nice.

The faintest whisper of her fluffy hair brushed his shoulder as she passed him and his heart was pounding in his chest. He didn't even remember the girl's name and for a moment he was sincerely convinced he'd fallen in love with her. The moment passed and he'd recovered from his temporary insanity, but the memory remained.

Luz called him over, claiming the lot of them were having a sleepover tonight, and if he wanted to join he was welcome.

'Lot of them' was at the moment Luz, King, her friend with the glasses, a younger boy, her girlfriend, a girl with her hair tied up in a bramble scrunchy, a taller boy whom towered over him, and a four legged demon whom also wore glasses.

He only joined because he had nothing better to do. He was introduced to her extended friend group (those being Viney, Jorbo, and Barkus) Luz going on to the others he didn't remember the names of with 'and you already remember the rest of these guys'

He sat apart from the others and avoided eye contact with the glasses girl (Willow, as Luz called her upon her return) wondering idly if as a plant person she'd somehow doused herself with some sort of plant pheromone to make all boys make fools of themselves around her, but then again, Jorbo Barkus and the younger boy (Gus as he'd spoken in third person for a but while telling a story) all seemed to be unaffected.

Then Jorbo slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer in one arm, Barkus under his other and claimed loudly that 'the guys get to choose the game' and Hunter's brain stopped working altogether until He let him go to insist that Gus doesn't count as 'the guys' because he always sides with Luz and Willow on games anyway. And for another very stupid very insane moment he'd convinced himself he'd fallen in love again.

Though this time he'd barely had a moment to recover from his temporary bout of insanity as the two began to bicker before Barkus sighed and placed a paw on his knee in solidarity and he was sent reeling again.

This kept happening on and off all day, someone would touch him, and his insides would positively lurch and he'd fell at once like he both needed to get as far away as possible, and lean into whatever the touch was and cling to whomever was providing it. But thankfully after those first two his brain had stopped taking the exact wrong conclusions about his reactions, so he'd stopped having to talk himself down from the worry that Luz's friends were all sirens and he was falling for their trap.

But it did mean he was now acutely aware of the lot of them as they continued about their games. Amity and Luz were play acting a scene and Amity dramatically fell backward, her upper half and head resting for only a brief moment in his lap and his knees felt like jelly for almost a full hour afterward.

Gus dramatically leaped in his direction and out of reflex Hunter caught him, and he... didn't want to let go. He was able to get away with carrying Gus around for a little bit, as there were no complaints from him at least, but he let the kid drop before it got suspicious.

Viney pulled him aside and while he was getting used to people touching his arms quickly, he was NOT used to another person's hot breath on his skin as she whispered a plan to prank the others into his ear.

King was perched on his shoulders for the longest time after he'd carried Gus around for a bit, insisting that if anyone deserved to have a personal chauffer it was him. He made sure to play up how annoyed he was, but the warm fur on the back of his neck was comforting.

But Luz, Oh... Luz was the worst. She already knew his reactions to being touched before going into this, so she made sure to do it as much as possible. sitting herself right next to him and swaying side to side so sometimes she'd brush up against Amity, and sometimes brush up against him, and she was single handedly the reason why he was getting used to people touching his arms.

But then she kept upping the game. Dramatically insisting that He was too cool for this or that dumb game that she clearly just wanted him to agree to play, putting a hand on his shoulder and pressing her cheek to his, and wathcing his brain promptly shut off as he reeled over how squishy her cheek was against his. sitting o the couch as he sat on the floor, and grabbing his head, tilting him back so that his head was essentially in her lap and smiling like the cat that ate the screamerfly at his reaction as she told him something or another he suddenly couldn't pay attention to. She even got Eda involved when she appeared briefly downstairs! She called in some sort of 'owe' and Eda pulled him aside, looking put upon and sighing.

And he didn't almost cry when the Owl Lady wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him to her chest. He didn't. Her gem dug into his forehead and her nails were long and sharp as she gently brushed them through his hair, and he'd somehow never felt so protected in all of his life, the downy feeling of feathers that still clung to her dress and the soft silver hair that brushed against him in odd places, and he only put his arms around her middle and squeezed back because it was the polite thing to do. Her chin brushed the crown of his head and-.... he just didn't know he was allergic to feathers until then, okay? It just also happened to feel really really good and he didn't want to let go. That was unrelated.

Hours had passed, he'd been shocked with physical affection enough times today that he could barely remember what they'd been doing the entire night, his memory only clinging to those moments where his brain had been so thoroughly flooded with endorphins that the rest of the night was a blur.

And he HAD to go back to is room. He wouldn't be able to sleep at all in the little 'cuddle puddle' Luz and the others had arranged. If he was so distracted by which body parts were in contact with other body parts sleep would elude him entirely, and sure he used to rarely sleep at all, but that was by choice back then!

But he-

He couldn't detangle himself.

Willow used his stomach as a pillow, he watched her head rise and fall with his breaths and felt the whisper of her fluffy hair against the smallest sliver of skin where his shirt had ridden up a bit. Gus and King were curled up to one side, Gus using his shoulder as a cushion and King beside his head. Viney had grabbed his arm in her sleep and clung to it like a stuffed animal. Barkus curled up in the space between his legs and Jerbo was using HIM as a pillow. if he even moved either of his legs one or both of them would be disturbed.

And Luz of course was curled up on his other side. a hand thrown across his shoulders and breathing softly into his neck. Amity was cuddled up behind her with her arms on her waist, and she was using his other arm as her own pillow.

He was effectively buried under the entire sleepover.

The pressure of others resting on top of and near him, the softness, the warmth, he didn't even need a blanket for all the heat the other bodies were providing. A shiver crawled up his spine as Luz hummed in her sleep and he could feel it in his chest as she did so. and Hunter had to concede defeat because this felt too damn good to even want to try and pull away.

--

Eda walked in about an hour after to a silent living room save for periodic snoring, she nursed a mug of Apple blood as she inspected the effective dogpile atop of the former Golden Guard.

Wow, it was days like this where it was really damn obvious how young the kid was. She could see even from here the freshly drying tear tracks on the boy's face, all that from just some cuddling? Sure Eda wasn't the best with handling physical affection either but she hadn't cried from something like that.... ever. (though if they managed to save Raine from whatever it was Belos did to them Eda couldn't be certain that that record would keep)

When Luz had approached her about their newest 'house guest' and insisted that Hunter needed a social circle, and probably just needed affection after living most of his life under Belos' thumb, Eda had assumed that would make him cagey and aggressive at the idea of being treated softly. But... eh... She supposed people always had a tendency to surprise you.

"Gettin' soft Owl Lady..." She muttered to herself as she approached the top of the cuddle pile and placed a hand on the boy's forehead, moving just slightly to comb some of his hair from his face. Hunter let out a quiet whimper but didn't stir. She watched as a sleepy smile lit up the boy's face.

--

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[silvokrent]

RWBY Character Analysis: Pietro and Penny Polendina

Up until now I’ve been keeping quiet about my opinions on the newest volume, in no small part because my personal life has been one absurd setback after another, and I haven’t had the energy to engage in fandom meta. If you do want to know what my current opinion of RWBY is, go over to @itsclydebitches blog, search through her #rwby-recaps tag, and read every single one. At this point, her metas are basically an itemized list of all my grievances with the show. I highly recommend you check ’em out.

Or, if you don’t feel like reading several hours’ worth of recaps, then go find a sheet of paper, give yourself a papercut, and then squeeze a lemon into it. That should give you an accurate impression of my feelings.

In truth, I have a lot to say about the show, particularly how I think CRWBY has mishandled the plot, characters, tone, and intended message of their series. And while I enjoy dissecting RWBY with what amounts to mad scientist levels of glee, I think plenty of other folks have already discussed V7′s and V8′s various issues in greater depth and with far more eloquence. Any contribution I could theoretically make at this point would be somewhat redundant.

That being said, I’d like to talk about something that’s been bothering me for a while, which (to my knowledge) no one else in the fandom has brought up. (And feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.)

Today’s topic of concern is Pietro Polendina, and his relationship with Penny.

And because I’m absolutely certain this post is going to be controversial and summon anonymous armchair critics to fill my inbox with sweary claptrap, I may as well just come out and say it:

Pietro Polendina, as he’s currently portrayed in the show, is an inherently abusive parental figure.

Let me take a second to clarify that I don’t think it was RWBY’s intention to portray Pietro that way. Much like other aspects of the show, a lot of nuance is often lost when discussing the difference between intention versus implementation, or telling versus showing. It’s what happens when a writer tries to characterize a person one way, but in execution portrays them in an entirely different light. Compounding this problem is what feels like a series of rather myopic writing decisions that started as early as Volume 2, concerning Penny’s sense of agency, and how the canon would bear out the implications of an autonomous being grappling with her identity. It’s infuriating that the show has spent seven seasons staunchly refusing to ask any sort of ethical questions surrounding her existence, only to then—with minimal setup—give us Pietro’s “heartfelt” emotional breakdown when he has to choose between “saving” Penny or “sacrificing” her for the greater good.

Yeah, no thanks.

If we want to talk about why this moment read as hollow and insincere, we need to first make sure everyone’s on the same page.

Spoilers for V8.E5 - “Amity.” Let’s not waste any time.

In light of the newest episode and its—shall we say—questionable implications, I figured now was the best time to bring it up while the thoughts were still fresh in my mind. (Because nothing generates momentum quite like frothing-at-the-mouth rage.)

The first time we’re told anything about Pietro, it comes from an exchange between Penny and Ruby. From V2.E2 - “A Minor Hiccup.”

Penny: I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but... You have to understand, my father loves me very much. He just worries a lot.

Ruby: Believe me, I know the feeling. But why not let us know you were okay?

Penny: I…was asked not to talk to you. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. Anybody, really.

Ruby: Was your dad that upset?

Penny: No, it wasn’t my father.

The scene immediately diverts our attention to a public unveiling of the AK-200. A hologram of James Ironwood is presenting this newest model of Atlesian Knight to a crowd of enthusiastic spectators, along with the Atlesian Paladin, a piloted mech. During the demonstration, James informs his audience that Atlas’ military created them with the intent of removing people from the battlefield and mitigating casualties (presumably against Grimm).

Penny is quickly spotted by several soldiers, and flees. Ruby follows, and in the process the two are nearly hit by a truck. Penny’s display of strength draws a crowd and prompts her to retreat into an alley, where Ruby learns that Penny isn’t “a real girl.”

This scene continues in the next episode, “Painting the Town…”

Penny: Most girls are born, but I was made. I’m the world’s first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura. [Averts her gaze.] I’m not real…

After Ruby assures her that no, you don’t have to be organic in order to have personhood, Penny proceeds to hug her with slightly more force than necessary.

Ruby: [Muffled noise of pain.] I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower!

Penny: [Releases Ruby.] Oh, he’s very sweet! My father’s the one that built me! I’m sure you would love him.

Ruby: Wow. He built you all by himself?

Penny: Well, almost! He had some help from Mr. Ironwood.

Ruby: The general? Wait, is that why those soldiers were after you?

Penny: They like to protect me, too!

Ruby: They don't think you can protect yourself?

Penny: They're not sure if I'm ready yet. One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the Tournament.

Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of the approaching soldiers from earlier. Despite Ruby’s protests, Penny proceeds to yeet her into the nearby dumpster, all while reassuring her that it’s to keep Ruby out of trouble, not her. When the soldiers arrive, they ask her if she’s okay, then proceed to lightly scold her for causing a scene. Penny’s told that her father “isn’t going to be happy about this,” and is then politely asked (not ordered; asked) to let them escort her back.

Let’s take a second to break down these events.

When these two episodes first aired, the wording and visuals (“No, it wasn’t my father,” followed by the cutaway to James unveiling the automatons) implied that James was the one forbidding her from interacting with other people. It’s supposed to make you think that James is being restrictive and harsh, while Pietro is meant as a foil—the sweet, but cautious father figure. But here’s the thing: both of these depictions are inaccurate, and frankly, Penny’s the one at fault here. Penny blew her cover within minutes of interacting with Ruby—a scenario that Penny was responsible for because she was sneaking off without permission. Penny is a classified, top-secret military project, as made clear by the fact that she begs Ruby to not say anything to anyone. Penny is in full acknowledgement that her existence, if made public, could cause massive issues for her (something that she’s clearly experienced before, if her line, “You’re taking this extraordinarily well,” is anything to go by).

But here’s the thing—keeping Penny on a short leash wasn’t a unilateral decision made by James. That was Pietro’s choice as well. “My father asked me not to venture out too far,” “Your father isn’t going to be happy about this”—as much as this scene is desperately trying to put the onus on James for Penny’s truant behavior, Pietro canonically shares that blame. And Penny (to some extent) is in recognition of the fact that she did something wrong.

Back in Volumes 1 – 3, before the series butchered James’ characterization, these moments were meant as pretty clever examples of foreshadowing and subverting the controlling-military-general trope. This scene is meant to illustrate that yes, Penny is craving social interaction outside of military personnel as a consequence of being hidden, but that hiding her is also a necessity. It’s a complicated situation with no easy answer, but it’s also something of a necessary evil (as Penny’s close call with the truck and her disclosing that intel to Ruby are anything to go by).

Let’s skip ahead to Volume 7, shortly after Watts tampered with the drone footage and framed her for several deaths. In V7.E7 - “Worst Case Scenario,” a newscaster informs us that people in Atlas and Mantle want Penny to be deactivated, despite James’ insistence that the footage was doctored and Penny didn’t go on a killing spree. The public’s unfavorable opinion of Penny—a sentiment that Jacques of all people embodies when he brings it up in V7.E8—reinforces V2’s assessment of why keeping her secret was necessary. Not only is her existence controversial because Aura research is still taboo, but people are afraid that a mechanical person with military-grade hardware could be hacked and weaponized against them. (Something which Volume 8 actually validates when James has Watts take control of her in the most recent episode.)

But I digress.

We’re taken to Pietro’s lab, where Penny is hooked up to some sort of recharge/docking station. Ruby, Weiss, and Maria look on in concern while the machine is uploading the visual data from her systems. There’s one part of their conversation I want to focus on in particular:

Pietro: When the general first challenged us to find the next breakthrough in defense technology, most of my colleagues pursued more obvious choices. I was one of the few who believed in looking inward for inspiration.

Ruby: You wanted a protector with a soul.

Pietro: I did. And when General Ironwood saw her, he did too. Much to my surprise, the Penny Project was chosen over all the other proposals.

Allow me to break down their conversation so we can fully appreciate what he’s actually saying.

The Penny Project was picked as the candidate for the next breakthrough in defense technology.

Pietro wanted a protector with a SOUL.

In RWBY, Aura and souls are one of the defining characteristics of personhood. Personhood is central to Penny’s identity and internal conflict (particularly when we consider that she’s based on Pinocchio). That’s why Penny accepts Ruby’s reassurances that she’s a real person. That’s why she wants to have emotional connections with others.

What makes that revelation disturbing is when you realize that Pietro knowingly created a child soldier.

Look, there’s no getting around this. Pietro fully admits that he wanted to create a person—a human being—a fucking child—as a "defense technology” to throw at the Grimm (and by extension, Salem). Everything, from the language he uses, to the mere fact that he entered Penny in the Vytal Tournament as a proving ground where she could “test [her]self,” tells us that he either didn’t consider or didn’t care about the implications behind his proposal.

When you break it all down, this is what we end up with:

“Hey, I have an idea: Why don’t we make a person, cram as many weapons as we can fit into that person, and then inform her every day for the rest of her life that she was built for the sole purpose of fighting monsters, just so we don’t have to risk the lives of others. Let’s then take away anything remotely resembling autonomy, minimize her interactions with people, and basically indoctrinate her into thinking that this is something she wants for herself. Oh, and in case she starts to raise objections, remind her that I donated part of my soul to her. If we make her feel guilty about this generous sacrifice I made so she could have the privilege of existing, she won’t question our motives. Next, let’s give her a taste of freedom by having her fight in a gladiatorial blood sport so that we can prove our child soldier is an effective killer. And then, after she’s brutally murdered on international television, we can rebuild her and assign her to protecting an entire city that’s inherently prejudiced against her, all while I brood in my lab about how sad I am.”

Holy fuck. Watts might be a morally bankrupt asshole, but at least his proposal didn’t hinge on manufacturing state-of-the-art living weapons. They should have just gone with his idea.

(Which, hilariously enough, they did. Watts is the inventor of the Paladins—Paladins which, I’ll remind you, were invented so the army could remove people from the battlefield. You know, people. Kind of like what Penny is.)

Do you see why this entire scene might have pissed me off? Even if the show didn’t intend for any of this to be the case, when you think critically about the circumstances there’s no denying the tacit implications.

To reiterate, V8.E5 is the episode where Pietro says, and I quote:

“I don’t care about the big picture! I care about my daughter! I lost you before. Are you asking me to go through that again? No. I want the chance to watch you live your life.”

Oh, yeah? And what life is that? The one where she’s supposed to kill Grimm and literally nothing else? You do realize that she died specifically because you made her for the purpose of fighting, right?

No one, literally no one, was holding a gun to Pietro’s head and telling him that he had to build a living weapon. That was his idea. He chose to do that.

Remember when Cinder said, “I don’t serve anyone! And you wouldn’t either, if you weren’t built that way.” She…basically has a point. Penny has never been given the option to explore the world in a capacity where she wasn’t charged with defending it by her father. We know she doesn’t have many friends, courtesy of Ironwood dissuading her against it in V7. But I’m left with the troubling realization that the show (and the fandom), in their crusade to vilify James, are ignoring the fact that Pietro is also complicit in this behavior by virtue of being her creator. If we condemn the man that prevents Penny from having relationships, then what will we do to the man who forced her into that existence in the first place?

Being her “father” has given him a free pass to overlook the ethics of having a child who was created with a pre-planned purpose. How the hell did the show intend for Pietro to reconcile “I want you to live your life” with “I created you so you’d spend your life defending the world”? It viscerally reminds me of the sort of narcissistic parents who have kids because they want to pass on the family name, or continue their bloodline, or have live-in caregivers when they get older, only on a larger and much more horrific scale. And that’s fucked up.

Now, I’m not saying I’m against having a conflict like this in the show. In fact, I’d love to have a character who has to grapple with her own humanity while questioning the environment she grew up in. Penny is a character who is extremely fascinating because of all the potential she represents—a young woman who through a chance encounter befriends a group of strangers, and over time, is exposed to freedoms and friendships she was previously denied. Slowly, she begins to unlearn the mindset she was indoctrinated with, and starts to petition for agency and autonomy. Pietro is forced to confront the fact that what he did was traumatic and cruel, and that his love for her doesn’t erase the harm he unintentionally subjected her to, nor does it change the fact that he knowingly burdened a person with a responsibility she never consented to. There’s a wealth of character growth and narrative payoff buried here, but like most things in RWBY, it was either underdeveloped or not thought through all the way.

The wholesome father-daughter relationship the show wants Pietro and Penny to have is fundamentally contradicted by the nature of her existence, and the fact that no one (besides the villains) calls attention to it. I’d love for them to have that sort of dynamic, but the show had to do more to earn it. Instead, it’ll forever be another item on RWBY’s ever-growing list of disappointments—

Because Pietro’s remorse is more artificial than Penny could ever hope to be.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #377

Top Ten Character Reveals in Movies

You only get one chance to make a first impression, unless you’re a movie version of a comic book character, in which case they’ll probably retell your origin story every seven years. But generally speaking, movie characters emerge onto our screens fully-formed and eager to show us their stuff. Sometimes this is a slow-build affair; sometimes a single frame is enough to give us an insight into their character. Often with a confident performance and excellent cinematography, a character can become iconic almost instantaneously, sometimes with little or no dialogue. This week I’m celebrating ten such characters, whose first appearance in the films in question is a marvel to behold. And – hey! – only one of them is actually from Marvel. Ain’t that a surprise?

Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2001): as much as I’ve cooled towards Depp in recent years, and as much as the Pirates films lost their way once their superlative first instalment sailed off the screen, no one can deny the majesty of this character introduction. Looking amazingly cool and confident, Jack Sparrow glides across the screen, seemingly standing astride the mast of a great pirate galleon. It is only as the camera pans wider that we see the boat is almost entirely sunken, with just the mast visible. This in itself is a perfect distillation of Sparrow – equal parts pirate rock god, master tactician, and clumsy drunken oaf – but the icing on the cake is that the sunken mast deposits him directly onto the shore at precisely the moment it disappears beneath the waves. Piratical perfection.

Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford, Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981): Indy is a character introduced in silhouette and close-up: the image of him, broad, leather-jacketed, fedoraed, walking through the jungle, is the first thing we see after the famous dissolve from the Paramount logo to a real mountain. After that his hands do the talking, examining arrowheads and assembling a map, before he whips out his, er, whip to disarm a treacherous guide. Only then does he finally step into the light and we see just how pretty Harrison Ford is. And it’s even later than that before he finally speaks. But Indy is already an icon: resourceful, robust, a sexy swarthy man’s man, a take-no-shit hero, and clearly incredibly competent and intelligent. And very, very pretty.

Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988): speaking of pretty… the joy of Jessica Rabbit’s introduction is partly in subverting our expectations (or, at least, watching Bob Hoskins’ Eddie Valiant have his expectations subverted). Roger Rabbit is cute but chaotic; Jessica is a bona fide sex bomb. Sultrily singing a bluesy number as she flirtatiously struts around the Ink and Paint Club, she is the antithesis of the family-friendly Roger, a busty pin-up model, all legs and curves and – vitally – the full-throated voice of Kathleen Turner. Quite frankly it’s rather shocking in a Disney movie from the director of Back to the Future.

Darth Vader (David Prowse, Star Wars, 1977): the opening scene of Star Wars is all tension. A small craft is abducted by a larger one; on board, two droids flit about whilst angst-faced soldiers await a boarding party. The subsequent firefight is short and rather brutal, efficiently directed by George Lucas, and leaving the corridor strewn with Rebel dead. And then, unheralded, out of the smoke emerges Darth Vader, beautifully framed, his vast black frame exquisitely contrasting with the white interior of the Tantive IV (and the “fascist white” of the Stormtrooper uniforms, according to Lucas’ own screenplay). He barks orders definitively in James Earl Jones’ baritone rumble, before hoisting a Rebel officer into the air by the scruff of his neck. He instantly oozes not just evil, but strong evil. He’s a Big Bad and no mistaking. Even without the depth and nuance afforded him by subsequent films, we know from frame one that he’s a really, really big deal.

Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman, Leon, 1995): Stansfield is one of 90s cinema’s greatest villains. A whirling dervish of tics and eccentricities, beautifully orchestrated by Oldman. The first thing we see him do is rattle a small tin before removing and consuming some narcotic, which he swallows in almost orgasmic fervour, before mowing down an entire family with a shotgun (mum in the bath, teen girl in the back). But it’s his shark-like entrance through a beaded curtain that sticks with me, all cool malevolence and forward motion.

Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen, Toy Story, 1995): one of the beauties of Toy Story is how it presents its fantastical world – a world of living toys, but one which follows a very strict hierarchical structure – so efficiently. As such, the arrival of an exciting new toy into Andy’s bedroom is an incredibly tense event, portrayed mostly through sound and shadow. The symbolic nature of Woody, Andy’s favourite, being knocked off the bed but still trying to keep his optimism, is neatly done. And then we get the reveal: a slow pan up Buzz’s form, his slick plastic limbs giving way to his stern jaw and proud face. The subsequent scene, in which Buzz’s pomposity and assurance is quietly mocked but ultimately used to puncture Woody’s desperate and fragile self-belief, culminating in the “falling with style” scene, is a masterpiece of economic, witty script-writing, world-building, and character development. It also makes terrific use of nascent computer technology to deliver something that was, in 1995, a visual set-piece the likes of which we’d never seen.

Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca, 1942): like Indiana Jones (who was, presumably, inspired by him to a certain degree – or at least that typical Bogartian old-fashioned manly-man), Rick is a character introduced in his absence, other characters reacting to him in a way as a note is passed through his club and into his hands. His hands are the first thing we see as he signs off on a note of credit and lifts a cigarette to his lips. We can tell from the surroundings, the money, the reactions of others that this is a man with some degree of power; we can tell from the weariness of Bogart’s performance that it’s man with some degree of past.

The Borg Queen (Alice Krige, Star Trek: First Contact, 1997): the Borg were not meant to have a leader; the Borg were not meant to have individuality. To have the Borg as the villains in a movie felt like an obvious, inspired choice; after all, they were essentially the “big bad” of the Next Generation era. But how to give face to the faceless, how to give character to a legion of identikit drones? Creating the Queen is as elegant a choice as I think you could come up with, and Krige’s performance is all sensual menace, her bio-organic appearance almost giving off an air of Cenobitian S&M. And she speaks before we see her, so we get a little bit of darkly seductive exposition as she touts the Borg’s accomplishments to a captive Commander Data. But it’s her first appearance that sticks in the mind, if only for the technical chutzpah on display: Krige’s head and torso is lowered from the ceiling in one long panning shot, before being attached to her waiting body, all whilst she delivers a speech. Krige’s performance might be what makes the Borg Queen linger in the memory, but Jonathan Frakes’ direction, and the wizardry of First Contact’s FX team, is what made her stand out from frame one.

Quint (Robert Shaw, Jaws, 1975) Quint is introduced through one of the greatest uses of sound effects in movie history. During a tense, argumentative, and loud town meeting to discuss the killer shark of Amity, a horrid screeching noise is heard. Fingernails down a chalkboard. The culprit: Bartholomew Marion Quint (who I’m fairly certain is only ever called “Quint” in the film). From his appearance and accent we know this a salty old seadog, a man of the open ocean. He delivers one of a number of Quint monologues that have gone on to anchor a place for themselves in popular culture; the assured speech of a man who has no time for bluster or politics, a man who gets down to business. “You all know me,” he begins, “You know how I earn my livin’.” He grabs attention with the shrill finger-trick, he holds it with his stern but wry delivery. “For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn fish.” He then disappears for an hour of film time, but we know he’ll be back; the film circles round him like a boat in a whirlpool.

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson, Iron Man, 2008): I’d heard rumours. Sam Jackson was, apparently, going to play Nick Fury, following on from Bryan Hitch using Jackson as the basis for the character in The Ultimates. Art imitating life imitating another form of art; nice symmetry. But there was no confirmation; indeed, at this point, Marvel was treating the possibility of an Avengers crossover movie as a pipe dream, a wish only fulfilled if they’d done their homework and the audience was interested. So I didn’t even bother staying for the end credits. God, I wish I had. Because following on from Iron Man’s spectacular, hilarious final line, its continuity-baiting desire to move beyond simple comic adaptation with these characters, to see the world expand so explosively is really something to behold. Cocksure, arrogant, always-right Tony Stark has just announced to the world that he’s Iron Man; venturing back into his sexy cliffside mansion, his elaborate technology – showcased to winning effect throughout the film – is on the fritz. Lights don’t work, computer-Jarvis is popping and crackling. And then it comes: that distinctive Jackson baritone. And one of the most important lines in any movie, a line that shaped the next decade of cinema history, but a line that – at the time – just felt like a cool, somewhat badass thing for Jackson to spout: “You think you’re the only superhero in the world?” We knew he wasn’t; we knew the Hulk was around, that Captain America was frozen up north somewhere, that Thor was still on Asgard. We didn’t know that the Ancient One was over in New York, that Rocket, Star-Lord and the rest were up in space, that Carol Danvers was out there somewhere, that a small boy from Queens would one day be bitten by a spider. We didn’t know that Thanos was searching for Infinity Stones, that SHIELD had been infiltrated by HYDRA for years, that Hank Pym had had his company stolen out from under him. Everything got smaller and bigger all at the same time, all because a really, really cool dude in an eye patch and a long coat stepped from the shadows. Welcome to the Avengers Initiative, indeed.

There were others, as usual. Ones that I honestly thought would be included. I almost traded Fury for Thanos. There’s Harry Lime, of course. Trinity. Heath Ledger’s Joker (really, he fell by the wayside because however good the opening scene of The Dark Knight is, the best Joker scene is when he does his pencil trick, which is technically his second introduction). I even thought of doing Batman’s initial appearance from his 1989 film. But, y’know, ya gotta draw the line somewhere. These ten seem as good a place as any.